Lottery participants use various ways of selecting combinations of numbers. For example, some use numbers which are derrived from statistics personal to them or members of their family, such as ages, birth dates, telephone numbers, addresses, etc. Others attempt to derrive systems based on relationships of the numbers themselves, e.g. every other odd number in a series. Others attempt to make an entirely arbitrary selection. In some states it is possible to select number combinations by use of a computer to which access is provided at the places where lottery tickets are sold.
The object of the present invention is to provide a mix and display type device for selecting numbers, the operation of which is both quick and entertaining. Known devices for selecting numbers or game pieces, or a combination of numbers or game pieces, are disclosed by the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 1,506,715, granted Aug. 26, 1924, Frank L. Ordway; 2,185,366, granted Jan. 2, 1940, to Harvey C. Bartholomew; 2,216,526, granted Oct. 1, 1940, James H. Watson; 2,665,915, granted Oct. 1, 1940, to James H. Watson; 2,665,915, granted Jan. 12, 1954, to William Steig; 2,884,376, granted July 22, 1958, to Harry W. Purdy; 3,289,321, granted Dec. 6, 1966, to Martin D. Sussman; 3,589,728, granted June 29, 1971, to Normal McFarlane; 4,123,051, granted Oct. 31, 1978, to Hedwig R. Tsacoyannis; 4,373,728, granted Feb. 15, 1983, to Willi Korzenietz; and 4,616,831, granted Oct. 14, 1986, to Ronald D. Testerman.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,728 is the only patent of the group which discloses a device designed to pick a particular set of numbers from a particular group of numbers. Such patent discusses, for example, picking six numbers out of a possible forty numbers. The device disclosed by this patent is quite complicated and takes a considerable amount of time to make the selection. This is because it handles a number of balls equal to the numbers involved in the group (e.g. forty numbers) and places them one at a time into pockets formed at the periphery of a wheel. Six of the balls are of a first color and the remaining balls are of a second color. The balls are all mixed in a mixing chamber and are then fed out of the mixing chamber, one at a time, into positions to be fed into the pockets at the periphery of the wheel. The wheel is turned to successively expose the pockets to the balls being fed out from the mixing chamber. A ball drops into each pocket as the pocket rotates into alignment with a ball delivery tube. After all of the balls are in the pockets, numbers associated with the pockets in which the six balls of the first color are received are read. This is the number combination that was selected in the manner described.
The mix and display device of the present invention handles only a number of balls equal to the set of numbers to be selected. The balls are mixed and distributed by a simple inversion of the device. As they drop the balls are randomly distributed to a like number of pockets in a group of pockets equal to the group of numbers involved in the lottery. For example, in the lottery operated by the state of Washington, seven numbers are selected out of forty-four numbers. Thus, in my device, there are six balls and forty-four pockets.